Mohawk has taken another bold step in the paper world by simplifying its portfolio of premium paper lines from 22 to six, reducing the number of SKUs in half and challenging the way paper is specified, with the release of a deceptively simple tool for paper specification. The New Mohawk product selector presents all Mohawk papers in one place and is the first in a wave of tools that Mohawk hopes will be paradigm-shifting.

Designed and engineered by Michael McGinn Design Office using the brand designed by Pentagram, the selector opens to three accordion fold charts, each containing several dozen oversize paper chips. Together, they organize Mohawk papers into three broad categories based on performance, character and value.

THE MOHAWK COLLECTION features a diverse range of Mohawk’s performance papers for modern print projects. The grades include Superfine, Loop, Options, and Via.

THE STRATHMORE COLLECTION includes papers that have set a standard for innovation since 1895, including a diverse assortment of colors and finishes that honor tradition and embrace technology. The lines include Pure Cotton, Writing, and Premium.

A booklet, “The New Mohawk,” also included, provides a simple guide to all items in the newly organized lines.

“The difference between Mohawk’s new sampling and everything that went before it is about 25 inches of shelf space and a tool that is more useful in today’s design world,” said designer Michael McGinn.

Dave Van de Water, Director of Product and Market Development, led the Mohawk initiative to streamline its product offering and create the new sampling tools. “The result of the collaboration is ingenious. Through extensive study, we now better understand the varied ways a new generation of designers and printers are approaching the specification of papers, and it’s vastly different than even five years ago.”

McGinn added, “The learnings on the project were more about the market we are speaking to — the users of the new materials — than about design or production concerns. In other words, really understanding the significance of the change in the marketplace over the past ten years and then designing for that change and the future is what this is about.”

STREAMLINE EXPLAINED

Mohawk’s new product offering is described in the video “Streamline Overview.” A Product Map explains the new structure, and the Streamline Paper Finder is a web-based tool to find any paper.

This announcement coincides with multiple initiatives Mohawk has just launched, including a new web site, a new brand, and a new promotion program. The New Mohawk product selector is available on MohawkConnects.com.